Dispensaries targeted at 4:20 am: “We believe that the three incidents may be linked.”
The first thing about this week’s big Canna Cabana Canada weed arson story that may raise eyebrows in Mass, where a single company can only have three dispensaries, is the unbelievable number of stores the chain has across its country.
Owned by High Tide Inc., they have 155 locations, about the same number as the major US multi-state operator Curaleaf, but in a country with less than an eighth of our population down here.
And on the morning of Aug. 22, at around 4:20 am to be exact, two of their shops in Burlington, Ontario were hit by a firestarter, according to police reports. A third location was also targeted. As Stratcann reported about the Canada weed arson:
Police report that witnesses heard glass shatter around 4:20 am on August 22. An investigation by authorities determined that a brick had been thrown through the window of the store, and a man was seen pouring a liquid into the store and then lighting it. Police describe the person fleeing the scene as a black man driving a light-coloured van.
Five minutes later, at about 4:25 am, police say another fire was lit at the Canna Cabana store at 3505 Upper Middle Road. Both stores are located in a strip mall. The Burlington Fire Department attended both scenes and put out the flames.
“Earlier today, two Canna Cabana stores in Burlington and one in Ancaster were vandalized. Based on similarities in the suspect’s description at each location and the way in which each attack was carried out, we believe that the three incidents may be linked,” High Tide Chief Public Affairs Officer Omar Khan told reporters (the company is not affiliated with the Massachusetts-based beverage manufacturer High Tide).
Khan continued, “As a company whose business model is designed to entice illicit market consumers to shift to the regulated cannabis industry, we urge law enforcement agencies and governments at all levels to prioritize the protection of legal cannabis stores like Canna Cabana. These legal stores are at the vanguard of the battle against entrenched criminal elements who will do anything to stop the growth of Canada’s legal cannabis industry.”
To be continued …
